Chapter Ten

Before Beca knew it, Jesse was out of the hospital and it was Friday morning already. The hospital had held Jesse back a bit and let him out late, so it was Thursday by the time they told him he could go home, but to promptly inform them if anything out of the ordinary was occurring. The doctor at the hospital had said that when Jesse was coughing and having chest pains before and the doctor had said it was perfectly fine, it was a misdiagnosis. And it turned out to be fatal.. The doctor had also offered Jesse the option of chemotherapy, but he said that there wouldn't be much difference in the result, so Jesse denied the offer.

Jesse was lying in bed beside Beca, debating whether or not to get up. She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping, he thought to himself, wanting to kiss her but not wanting her to wake up. Just as he finished thinking that, Beca rolled over towards Jesse and groaned, snuggling her head into his chest. Jesse put his arm around her. She opened one eye and looked at him.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said, kissing her softly.

She smiled and kissed him back. "Good morning, handsome," she said blearily. Beca didn't have work on Fridays and Saturdays, which left her free to sleep in. Jesse's phone beeped on the bedside table. He reached over and grabbed it, reading the message swiftly before turning back towards Beca.

"Donald just texted me. He and Lilly are going out for breakfast and wants to know if we want to double."

"Where?"

"At, uh, the tiny little coffee place down the road. It's called like Tous Le Monde or something like that. You know, we wanted to go there but never did?"

Beca nodded, "Yeah, I remember now. Um, yeah, sure tell them we'll meet them in like an hour or so." It was about nine am now so Beca figured they had some time to spare.

Jesse nodded and sent the text and said to Beca, "We better get up or else you're just gonna end up falling asleep again," he laughed as he picked her up bridal style and spun her around a few times, causing her to giggle in delight, before he set her down on her feet and kissed her. She kissed him back and they stood forehead to forehead for a few minutes before Jesse pecked Beca on the lips and dashed into the bathroom.

"Now, I get first shower," he announced from the bathroom, laughing.

Beca shook her head and smiled impishly before calling after him, "Not necessarily," and following him.

After both of them took a shower (which took longer than usual, although Beca insists that they were conserving water), Beca changed and went to put on makeup while Jesse changed. After Jesse changed, they walked down to Tous Le Monde together.

As Beca and Jesse entered the doors of the small café, Donald and Lilly were already there.

"Hey, Jesse, over here!" Donald called from the table that they were sitting at. Jesse took Beca's hand and pulled her over to the table.

"Hi," Lilly said, just barely loud enough for the other three of them to hear, "And do you guys want to see a dissected cat?"

"Adorable," Donald said, kissing Lilly.

"Dude, we just got here, chill!" Jesse said, laughing and sitting down, tugging Beca down with him.

"So, how've you been doing, man?" Donald asked Jesse.

"Fine, fine, I guess,…" Jesse trailed off. He hadn't told Donald about the doctor's final diagnosis yet.

"You're hidin' something. I can see it, Jesse. Now, spill," Donald said.

"Well, you see…" Jesse was interrupted by the waitress coming around for orders. Saved by the bell, Jesse thought.

"Coffee and French toast for me," Donald told the waitress, "Lil?"

Lilly whispered something into Donald's ear. "Uh, she'll have just coffee."

"Um, I'll take the scrambled eggs and coffee," Jesse said, scanning his menu and then closing it.

"The pancakes, scrambled eggs, croissant and orange juice," Beca said.

"Dang, Beca, you have a big appetite for a tiny person," Jesse teased after the waitress had left, poking Beca's tummy gently.

Beca lay a protective hand over her tummy and punched Jesse's arm lightly.

"So, Jesse, you still have to spill the beans," Donald said.

Jesse sighed and took Beca's hand in his, rubbing it softly. "Well, here's the thing…. I had a CT scan and an x-ray done the other day and the doctor said I have non-small cell, non-smokers' adenocarcinoma,"

"What's that?" Donald asked, clearly confused.

"It's…. It's a terminal lung cancer,"

Donald's jaw dropped and even Lilly gasped. Beca pressed her face into Jesse's shoulder and Jesse put an arm around her, kissing her forehead. The food came a couple of minutes later but no one even looked at it.

"But how? When?" Donald asked, breaking the silence.

"Just a couple of days ago, I found out. And I don't know how either,"

Lilly reached her hand across the table and patted Beca's hand in an attempt to comfort her. Beca lifted her head up but although there were no tears on her face. Beca swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to smile.

"Hey, you two, it's okay, we'll all help you through this," Donald said, "But meanwhile, let's not sit here and wait for the food to get cold."

Jesse grinned. Of course Donald was still thinking about food at a time like this.

They all dug into their food, though, Beca finishing at record speed.

"Jesus, Beca! Don't choke yourself!" Jesse said, laughing. Beca smiled and jabbed Jesse's arm. Jesse poked her back and soon, an all-out poking war broke out.

"God, and they're telling us to chill," Donald stage-whispered to Lilly.

Beca and Jesse broke off in a fit of laughter and Jesse kissed Beca quickly, her kissing him back. Donald rolled his eyes and laughed.

Jesse looked at him and said, "Like you and Lilly are any better!"

After they had all finished eating, they sat there silently. Donald looking at Lilly mouthing words to a rap song and Jesse holding Beca's hand, rubbing circle on her palm with his thumb.

"Hey, guys? I-I'm… pregnant."